Woman arrested for battering daughter

Basehor police arrested a 35-year-old woman Monday after her eldest daughter told officer she'd been choked that morning by her mother.

Lori Siber-Mellow made her first appearance in Leavenworth County District Court Wednesday on charges of aggravated battery and battery. She was still in custody as of press time, but prosecutors said she would most likely post bond and be released sometime Wednesday.

Police said the daughter, a 17-year-old Basehor-Linwood High School student, was driving with her mother and 4-year-old sister Monday morning when an argument broke out.

The 17-year-old told police her mother grabbed her by the throat while driving on Elm Street, near her mother's workplace, at approximately 8:10 a.m. Police photographed ligature marks on the girl's neck, said interim Basehor police chief Martin Cigich.

"We saw obvious marks on either side of her neck," Cigich said.

The girl also told police that the mother had physically abused her on previous occasions.

Once police contacted officials from Social and Rehabilitation Services, as well as a local advocate for victims of domestic violence, they interviewed the mother, who worked nearby.

The woman denied grabbing her daughter around the throat and told police the 17-year-old punched her in the face. Cigich said police were skeptical about the allegation.

"The girl denied it and I don't believe she did it because there were no marks on (the daughter's) face," the police chief said.

SRS officials requested that the 17-year-old and three of the woman's other children being removed from the home. They are currently staying with their father, police said.